The Spider or the Butterfly?
by The Golden Ostrich
Summary: What's the value of life? Are humans really so arrogant to hang price tags around their brothers necks? Can one stay true to one's morals in a desperate situation? Contemplation piece; please R&R!
1. Knives

The Spider or the Butterfly?  
  
The Golden Ostrich  
  
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Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Trigun...  
  
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Knives  
  
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He's coming closer…he can sense me in his dreams; see my destruction in his path. In chasing down Legato, he's really chasing down me.  
  
Knives. Your dear brother, Vash. It's been a long time.  
  
He won't be stopped…I know the Gung-Ho Guns won't succeed in killing him. That will be my task, and one I accept with open arms. They'll all die in process of trying, although not at the deliberate hand of Vash. He's never brought death about in a purposeful manner, the weakling that he remains.  
  
But Vash will make it to this glade, and one of us must die.  
  
The spider or the butterfly? They can't exist in the same web together; Vash and I can't share this world any longer. He would say otherwise, following those humanistic morals Rem taught him over a century ago. How can he continue to live by the words of a dead woman, an idealistic pacifist? There's no realism flowing through Vash's veins; not a drop of blood fit for survival. Which is why he won't survive…to follow his ideals, he cannot kill me, and now the doors of Death are wide open for my brother…  
  
And should he betray his dearest Rem and attempt the ultimate sin, to take another's life, he'll realize my judgment of these wretched humans is correct, and unite with my in my quest. Whatever he chooses to do, he'll not be able to obstruct my ambitions any longer, or keep his bloodless ideals.  
  
He'll fight my reasoning, I'm certain of that. He's always been headstrong mentally, although rarely physically. I've been watching him…in his overly cautious efforts to protect humanity, he's causing more death and pain inadvertently then I ever could purposely. All of his weak physical actions are leading to chaos. It's almost a shame I'm required to take him down in order to succeed…he's been such a good little henchman.  
  
But for the spider to live, the butterfly must die, and so Vash the Stampede will meet his end.  
  
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Author's Note: I'll make this short since the bastard gods who run this site obviously don't think we authors deserve the right to explain ourselves in a designated chapter: please review. 


	2. Vash the Stampede

Vash the Stampede  
  
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I know that Knives is near; I know he's waiting for me. In a way, I'm waiting for him myself as well…I have a decision to make.  
  
To follow the beliefs I share with Rem or rid this world of pure destruction? Either way, someone must die…Knives, or countless humans who know so little of the evil that hangs over them? I can't finish this and continue to act as a pacifist; no matter what I do, my nature must be abandoned. So the question comes down to this: will one die or many?  
  
That answer should be obvious, but for that one to die, there must be murder…a cold-blooded murder. And while Knives is hardly and innocent victim, can I really coat my hands with blood as did he?  
  
The killings of many are not my fault, but I still take the blame…I know who this Deliverer of Death is, I know I could stop it. We're matched in strength and artillery, but I have the mental advantage as a maneuvering pacifist. But can I give up on that pacifism in order to keep peace? Then I'm nothing but a lowly hypocrite.  
  
There's nothing to be done, Rem…I have no answer.  
  
It lives a bitter taste in my mouth to know that beings cannot survive without slaughtering one another in the name of divine right and peace. What's the value of life if people can so easily throw it away? These humans think they have the right to put prices on creatures with souls and emotions of their own? They think they can simply loop a price tag around each other's necks and hang them from the string?  
  
I find myself growing angry at this arrogant race and fear that I'm beginning to see the world through Knives's eyes more and more with each passing day. I see the brutality, the greed, the lust, the anger, and I wonder…is it worth the pain? Is it worth all my pain to protect these selfish creatures?  
  
Of course, they're not all bad…Rem was pure; Wolfwood is a good man, even if he is a killer. The children…children are born with only the ability to love, not to hate or to kill. They learn that as they grow, but they're sweet angels in the beginning of their lives. Yes, it's worth the pain to know that those children might have a chance to grow without so much hate in their souls.  
  
That is why I struggle with myself and the world…that is why, against all odds, I remain Vash the Stampede. The Sixty Billion Double Dollar Man. The Humanoid Typhoon. The pacifist capable of g-grade damage. The devil and the angel rolled up into a red coat and thrown to the world to act as protector and killer. Those children…the children inside of all of mankind are why I suffer.  
  
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Author's Note: you know the drill...I'd say more, but I'm afraid they'll take away my short sentences at the bottom of ecah chapter too. Please review for the sake of my sanity. 


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